Engines expire at the Brickyard by Kellyanne Lynch
29 July 2007
Michael Waltrip Racing suffered blown engines in the Allstate 400, today's Nextel Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The #00 Simpsons Movie Burger King Camry was the first to fall out of the race; driver David Reutimann finished 38th, sixty-eight laps down. Terry Labonte, in the #55 Napa Auto Parts Toyota, was ten laps down in 30th.
"All right, kids have a good day. Have fun in the pits. Have good stops," crew chief Frankie Kerr came over the radio shortly after the call to start engines. He welcomed all the Burger King people too. "Dave, be careful, and let's go get 'em."
"10-4, Frank," David replied. "Are you still breaking up with me there?"
"I'm good with you now. What did you have to change there."
"I had to turn the radio on and back off a couple times. Seems like it got a lot better."
"I hanged my antennae, so that probably helped some," Frank told his driver. He said they probably can't talk on the back straightaway with all the buildings.
"Just give it a try down the back and see what we got there," David requested.
Frank said he would.
A crew member warned David that pit road was tight and narrow.
"Chris," Frank addressed a crewman, "make sure you have some bags made up for our driver."
"David, this is Jason," said Dale Jarrett's son and usual spotter. "Got a copy on me back here?"
"10-4."
Frank came on the radio when the #00 was on the backstretch and asked how he sounded.
"Pretty bad right there, Frank," David replied.
Frank said it was no big deal.
"Pit road speed, David," Jason noted. "Pit road speed right there."
"47 and second," David noted. "Does that sound all right?"
Frank said 4900 and second gear was what it should be.
"Jason, when we get on the back, try talking to me again," David requested.
"Two to go at the line, Dave. Two to go at the line."
"I say, have you got me okay?" David asked.
"We got you buddy," Frank replied. He said Terry Labonte in the #55 was behind them in the pits, and David Gilliland's #38 was in front of them. He told David again 4900 on pit road.
"How 'bout you, Dave. Do you got me?" cousin and regular spotter Shawn Reutimann asked.
"I got you, Shawn," David answered. "Do you guys hear me back here? Jason?"
"Yeah, I got you," Jason replied. "I lose you about right there with the trees."
"When do you pick me back up? Do you know?"
After a long pause, Jason said, "I pick you up again right there."
"10-4, bud."
"It'll be one to go at the line," Frank told his driver. "Take our time, have a good race. You know what to do, buddy. You're at Indianapolis. Let's have a good race."
"07 on the outside, falling to the rear," Jason warned.
"Next time by," said Shawn. "All right, Dave. 160 laps. Be there at the end. Be safe." He reminded David to use his mirrors. "Jason and I will help you as much as we can here."
"10-4."
'All right, coming to the green. Be ready. Pace car's off. Ready? Ready? Ready? Green green green," Shawn brought his cousin to the green flag at 2:21pm ET. "Inside. Still there. Clear behind the 1."
"You're clear, clear, clear," Jason added. "Clear by one. Inside, 99 inside. The 8's looking with him inside. Inside, still there. Inside. Got a couple more coming. Inside, still there. Still there inside. Clear behind the 45."
"Really really loose," David reported. He had started 34th but was back to 40th one lap into the race.
"Clear, clear," Jason noted.
"Outside, outside. Still there," Shawn picked up the spotting. He warned that Clint Bowyer's #07 was inside and cleared him behind Bowyer.
"Clear by one on the 7," said Jason. Lap 2 saw David in 41st. Meanwhile, pole sitter Reed Sorenson had led every lap. Terry Labonte in the #55 was next, looking inside the #00.
On lap 5, David got around Ken Schrader for 40th. He was told he was clear with no pressure.
"Feel any better?" Frank asked.
"It's still bad loose, Frank," was David's reply.
Getting around Kyle Petty on lap 6 gained David the 39th spot.
"Clear by four," said Shawn. "Outside, still there. Still there, outside. Clear. Looking back to the outside, right rear corner. All clear."
"Clear by two, clear by two," Jason added. "Looking inside, all clear."
"Inside, left rear corner. Inside, all clear. Clear, clear."
"Car's four back. All clear," Jason picked up for Shawn. "66 coming back to you. All clear. Still there."
"Clear all around," said Shawn.
"Just real, real loose, bud. Real loose," David reported.
"We'll work on it," Frank assured his driver. "Is it loose everywhere?"
"Yeah."
Terry Labonte dropped to 42nd on lap 9, gaining David 38th.
"Clear by three," Shawn noted.
"All clear, no pressure," Jason added.
"All by yourself right there." A while later, Shawn said, "Outside, still there."
"All clear," Jason observed. David was up to 37th on lap 11 by getting around Robby Gordon. "Clear by three on the 7. All clear."
"The competition yellow is in three laps," Frank said the next time around the track. Shawn warned that Robby Gordon was coming.
"Clear, clear. 7's coming through there with you," Jason noted as David and Gordon got around David Ragan on lap 15. David was now 36th. "Clear by ten."
"No pressure. All by yourself right there. Caution's out, caution's out."
The first caution was on lap 13 for Jeff Green. He lost a tire and rear-ended the wall. David Ragan had just re-passed the #00.
"Loose entry, loose in the middle. Loose loose loose everywhere," David told his team. "Especially loose on the throttle."
"All right, Dwayne, two rubbers. Pull two rubbers, track bar down."
"Pit road's closed, David. Pit road's closed."
"It's gotten freer as we've gone."
"It got freer as it went?"
"Yeah. I don't know if it was just the free air in front of us that made it worse."
Frank said David would have a free path into the pits, because the #55 was behind him. He also called for an air pressure adjustment and asked for water temperatures. David told him 220.
Shawn informed the team that NASCAR was considering this the competition yellow. "You can take fuel, Frankie. You can."
"You can, yes."
"4900 and second when you get here."
David pit with the field under caution. Frank guided him into the stall. "Wheels straight, put on the brakes.
"Go go go, go go. Clear all around, bud."
"4900, all the way down," Shawn added as the pair guided David off pit road. Tony Stewart had been the first driver back on track.
David asked about the tires.
"There weren't heat in them. Look good, bud." Frank said they would have another yellow on lap 40 to check.
"Not going, David. Not going. Waving it off," Shawn stated. He warned David that the #01 didn't have second gear and may jam them up on the start.
"10-4," David replied.
"Frank."
"Yeah."
"This right rear over here was three more pounds than yours, and they had the same complaint," said a crew member.
"All right, coming to the green," Shawn noted. "Pass right, protect the right. Pace car's off. Be ready. Ready? Ready? Ready? Green green green."
Tony Stewart led the lap 19 restart with David in 36th and Terry in 33rd. He was cleared by four car lengths.
"Got the 45 trying to make it three-wide, three-wide, three-wide."
The second caution came on lap 21 for Ryan Newman. Dale Earnhardt Jr had just taken the lead.
"Got one coming across the track, got one coming across the track," Shawn warned. "Go high."
"All right, bud. Did you hurt your tires any?"
"No." He reported the car felt fine from the "get-up-and-go deal", but he'd let Frank know on a longer run if things changed.
"Stay low through there. There's a bunch of debris there," Shawn warned as the field weaved around pieces of the #12 car. "All right, David, when you come back through 3 and 4, you're going to use the accelaration lane, instead of going back on the race track."
"10-4," David replied.
"All right, one to go at the line, David. One to go at the line," Shawn noted.
Earnhardt Jr led the lap 24 restart with David in 33rd and Terry 36th. Shawn warned David that the #1 and the #99 were looking to pass.
"11's coming to you," said Jason. "Looking inside. All clear."
By lap 26, David had fallen to 36th. David Ragan dropped back through the pack, allowing the #00 to pick up 35th on lap 27.
"Got the 6 making a run to the inside," Jason noted. "Clear, clear."
"Clear by one," said Shawn. "Outside, outside. Still there. Clear."
"All clear. Pulling away. No pressure."
Passing Johnny Sauter on lap 29 gained David 34th.
"All by yourself. No pressure."
"How's your race car. Feeling any better?" Frank asked.
"A little bit, bud," David replied. After Jason told him he was all clear, the driver added, "Little bit too tight on exit now, bud. A little bit too tight on exit."
"All by yourself," Shawn told his driver. David was up to 33rd on lap 31.
"All clear, no pressure," Jason said.
David got around Elliott Sadler on lap 33 for the 32nd spot.
"All clear. Pulling away from the 19," Jason noted. "All clear."
"Clear by ten, back to the 7," Shawn added.
"It's a little less tight on the throttle right now. That's what's killing me," David informed his crew.
"Clear by five, working lap 35, five away from a stop," Shawn stated, and Jason added, "Clear by two on the 7."
Robby Gordon's pass on lap 37 moved David back to 33rd. Shawn cleared the #00 by one to the #16.
"16 inside, inside. Clear," Shawn continued. Greg Biffle's #16 had passed; David was now 34th on lap 38.
"Got one spinning. Back it down, back it down. Coming back across the track," Shawn warned.
Kasey Kahne slid up the track into Tony Raines. Raines hit the wall and bounced down into Kahne. NASCAR brought out the third caution on lap 40.
"Too tight on exit on the throttle. You've definitely helped it on entry." "It just really plows the nose on exit."
Shawn informed the team this would count as the competition yellow. "Coming in, Frank?"
Frank said they were and that they'd take four tires and gas. "Leave the trak bar alone, because he's good getting in." He also called for a rubber out and half a round up on the track bar. "Need a good stop, kids."
"Your tires looked good," Frank reported. "No issues. your tires looked good on the wear."
David said, if the tires were going to wear, they would wear in the right front.
The green flag returned on lap 43. Earnhardt Jr led the field, David ran 27th, and Terry was 30th. Shawn cleared the #00 by three car lengths one lap into the run.
"Got one wrecking," Shawn warned. "Back it down, back it down. Watch him. Stay right there in the middle. Back it down."
The yellow flag waved for the fourth time on lap 46. Denny Hamlin had taken the field three-wide, driving alongside Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray. JJ Yeley, Bill Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, Robby Gordon, Scott Riggs, and Ricky Rudd were all involved.
"Good job, D-Reut. Good job, buddy!"
"All right, buddy."
"Good job getting me through that, y'all, because I couldn't see nothing." David said the car needed work on the throttle. "I don't know how bad I slid them, Frank, but I slid them."
Frank said they were changing the tires; they weren't taking any chances. They were also taking a pound of air out of the left rear. He hoped pit road would be closed until they cleaned the debris.
"Whooo!! We were right behind that!" Shawn exclaimed.
Frank then said he wanted to go down on the right rear. "Clockwise, Travis."
"Pit road's still closed," Shawn noted. "Pit road's still closed."
David asked for a tear-off. He made a stop when pit road opened.
"Go go go. Got one outside, one outside," Frank warned.
Shawn said to watch David Stremme's #40. "All clear.
"One to go at the line."
"How come all those guys came in the next time by?" David asked. "What was that all about?"
"Some of those guys had to go to the tail end of the longest line anyway for coming in too early," Frank replied. "Some of those guys just screwed up."
Earnhardt Jr led the lap 53 restart. David was 18th, and Terry was 15th.
"Clear by four," Shawn noted.
Tony Stewart picked up the lead just before a four-car accident that drew the fifth caution on lap 54. Casey Mears blamed himself for getting loose when he and Elliott Sadler went three-wide with Johnny Sauter's lapped #70, and Mears got into Sadler. Riggs picked up more damage.
"Caution's out, caution's out."
"Anything happen to you? Get you loose?" Frank asked.
"I got into the 55," David mumbled. "I don't know. I just got loose. What's the yellow out for?"
"Somebody wrecked over in three, I think," Shawn said.
Jason warned David about safety vehicles. "I don't see any cars, unless they're on the bottom."
Frank said they were staying out. "They're tearing up a lot of shit today. If we ride around here, we'll get a good finish. Some of these guys up front who didn't pit earlier might pit now.
"If this race is 160 laps, it's going to take a while."
"Hey Shawn?"
"Yeah?"
"How many laps until you think we go back to green?" Frank asked.
"Maybe one, two at the most," Shawn replied. About two laps, Bob. Two laps."
"They put speedy dry down, because there's water down there, so I'd say at least two," Jason added.
Stewart led the lap 60 restart. David was 20th, and Terry was 17th. Jason and Shawn warned David about a car to the outside. Carl Edwards passed one lap into the run, moving the #00 to 21st.
"07 one back," Jason noted.
Jimmie Johnson's car had been smoking. The tire exploded, and he hit the wall. The back end of his car erupted in flames. He pulled his #48 into the grass and jumped out of the car. NASCAR brought out the sixth caution on lap 61.
"We all good there, D-Reut?" Frank asked.
"We're good."
"Didn't get anything, did you?"
"No, we're good."
"All righty. That's a fire at the Brickyard." Frank asked about the car.
David said he felt like the car was on the tight side.
Shawn told David that NASCAR was putting David Gilliland's #38 in front of the #00.
"Aw, man, come on!" David protested.
"That's what NASCAR's saying."
"I can't... nevermind. Nevermind." David paused. "He's passing me in the grass, and they're saying... nevermind. It just amazes me sometimes."
"Pit road's open, Frank. Staying out?"
"Yeah, I think we ought to stay out. i really do, Dave. There's enough wrecks here, cautions."
"All the leaders come in, we're staying out?"
"Tell me, Frank!"
Frank called for a four-tire stop.
When David came in, he told his crew, "You gotta be quicker with this sign."
Frank reiterated this to the crew member with the sign.
"4900 all the way out," Shawn said after the stop.
"Guys, we gotta be better on these stops," Frank admonished the crew.
"From now on, if you have a caution there, buddy, just be ready," a crew member said.
"Helmets don't come off!"
David said the caution would be lengthy for all the debris.
"Yeah, that thing had fire and everything," Frank replied. Two crew members spoke on the radio at once, and the crew chief asked for one at a time.
"I was just wondering what the deal was on that stop," a crew member said.
"We have two more stops if this thing goes green. Two more stops is all we'll need all day."
"No, I was just wondering how we came out last. That's all."
"What was that?" Frank asked.
"Nevermind. We'll talk about it Monday."
Jason told David there were still a lot of safety trucks.
"What's the 2 doing there, Shawn?" David asked before the restart.
"I can't see you, bro," Shawn replied. "What's going on?"
"I asked what the 2 is doing."
"Hey's just falling to the rear."
Lap 66 saw the restart. Kyle Busch led, David was 24th, and Terry was 22nd.
Jason warned that a car was looking inside the #00. "Small hole, small hole. Got the 01 coming to you." He then said the #2 was coming to him. Shawn cleared him all around.
David was cleared behind the #2. He was 28th by lap 69, but one lap later, he passed the #55 for position.
"Clear by three," Shawn said. "Clear by two, back to the 55."
"How's the race car, Dave?" asked the crew chief on lap 75. David was 26th.
"It's a lot better, Frank." After a minute, David said, "It's starting to go back to the tight side on exit thought."
"Caution's out. Debris on the front," Shawn informed the team.
Lap 76 saw the seventh caution.
"Okay, Dave, we have two options. Keep working on it here or stay out."
"We need to make it better if we're going to move forward at all," David replied.
Frank called for a left rear adjustment, which David said he could definitely use.
Somebody told the crew to take a deep breath and to do a nice job here. "Don't do anything spectatulous."
David pit with some other drivers under caution. Shawn warned him about cars crashing on pit road. Kurt Busch lost the rear end of the car.
"Anyone talk to Ron getting on the pit box, Frank? Am I screwing us up getting into the pit box."
Frank said David had stopped long that time, but he's been fine.
"I don't want to screw you guys up. If I'm doing anything wrong, you just let me know."
Frank said he could go through the #55 box as they were behind him.
"Frank, this thing is low on voltage," David reported. He said he was on the first battery, so Frank said go to the second and shut the fans off. He also told David to shut off the air conditioner and that he could turn that stuff back on if the voltage came back.
Stewart led the lap 79 restart with David in 25th and Terry 23rd.
"83 slow on the bottom getting into 1," Shawn warned. The #2 car was looking inside next. Vickers fell back, and Kurt Busch passed. Clint Bowyer dropped David to 26th on lap 82.
"It just sputtered real bad on the front straightaway," David reported on lap 85.
"Are you on battery two?"
"Showing about twelve and a half."
"If the volts are up, try box b."
He was cleared by ten car lengths. Jason cleared him as David got around Kurt Busch on lap 86, and Shawn said he was cleared by one car length.
"Clear by five, pulling away," Shawn noted.
"How's your voltage, pal?" Frank asked on lap 89.
"It's just over twelve," David replied.
"Everything shut off?"
"Yeah, everything's off, bud." A moment later, he reported, "Smoke, getting smoke." He was headed for the pits.
"Outside, got some more coming," Shawn warned.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Try to stay out."
On lap 90 came the eighth caution for debris.
"What's going on, bud?" Frank asked.
"Got a lot of smoke inside," David reported.
"Motor smoke?"
"Yeah, seems like it. Smells like oil, I think. Feels like it's down a cyllander, bud."
"I've about had it with this frickin' motor. You know, we're staying out until this thing disintergrates."
"I can't hear you, bud. You want me to stay out?"
Frank said they would come in when the pits opened and see if they could find a leak with the hood open. "I hope it's something else, but it looks like motor. Sorry, bud. We got an eighth man, but you cannot help on the car.
"We'll make sure it's not some kind of leak or something stupid," Frank continued. "We'll worry about tires later. We'll come out and come right back in." Frank told the team to look at pipes. "Is there smoke inside the car, Dave?"
"Oh yeah, a lot of it," David replied.
Somebody said the first cyllander was not hot. "Water seems to be good."
"Get the hood closed," said Frank. "Come back around... we got a minute? Screw it. Four tires."
They were warned the pace car was now in Turn 3.
"Come on, guys," Frank hustled the crew. "Go ahead, Dave. Just keep running it, Dave. 4900."
"It's going to be one to go at the line here," noted Shawn.
"It ain't going to go very much longer, Frank," David said.
A crew member asked if they had another plug wire they could put on.
"It hasn't been hot at all, has it, Dave?" Frank asked.
David replied, "It hasn't been hot."
"Dave, if we can run it on seven, safely run it, but we'll try to figure out what we can do with it."
Shawn told David that NASCAR wanted him to run the low line.
"Frank, we're done, bud," David told his crew chief. "It ain't going to do nothing."
"Got a lot of smoke coming out of it, Dave," Jason noted.
"NASCAR wants him on pit road, Frank," Shawn reported.
Frank called the car back in for tires.
Somebody said to take it to the garage. "We got to try, damn it."
"Where do I turn it?" David asked.
"Take it to the garage. It's done," Frank said.
"Now they're going to call us to the trailer," Shawn told the team. "We're on the access rode."
NASCAR called the #00 team to the hauler for oiling the track.
"There's no oil!" David exclaimed. "There's no oil on the race track."
"Get an official and let him see it wasn't you then," somebody said.
"I mean, no. Look! Get the offical to come over and look! There's no oil."
Frank said somebody could get over there and show it.
"Get them to look, because they're going to make me come over there again."
Frank said that he would.
"Done, Frank?" Shawn asked.
"Let's look at the motor real quick before we take everything down," Frank replied. "Stay up there."
"I'm going to miss another flight, thanks to NASCAR."
Jason gave a response.
"Shawn, Jason can go," somebody said.
"Were you in the middle of the race track, David?" Shawn asked.
"He's off the radio," a crew member replied. "Hey, Shawn, answer your phone."
At 4:41pm, the team determined that they were done. David told reporters, "Just a motor failure for the second week in a row. I don't know what we have going on there, but it's really disappointing. We don't know why, but they'll go back and take a look at it to try to figure out the problem. First it dropped a cylinder, and then it started blowing oil out of the exhaust. Our car was okay -- we seemed to go from one side to the other on handling, but we were going to be okay. I'm just really disappointed to end the day like this."
"You say you were done, Frank?" Shawn asked.
"We're done, dude. We're done."
After saying they needed to talk to an official, the crew member said they were done anyway and taking off tires.
Racing resumed on lap 98 with Greg Biffle leading. David was 32nd and off the track while Terry ran 23rd. By lap 101, he was 26th. The #55 passed Scott Riggs the next time around the track. Terry's spotter cleared him by four, and then five car lengths. The Napa Camry was then clear by eight.
"A little bit loose right there," Terry reported.
"10-4," his crew chief replied.
Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 104.
"Clear by twelve, back to the 21 car," said the spotter.
"53.60," the crew chief read off the lap time. "54 flat." He continued to read off times.
"40 up high off of 1 is going to be blowing up here, Terry," warned the spotter. Scratch that. It's a tire rub on that 40 car."
David Stremme's drop through the ranks gained Terry 24th. Meanwhile, Stewart moved into the lead on lap 113.
After reading off the lap time one lap later, the crew chief asked if the car was still too loose.
"Yeah, 10-4, a little loose," Terry replied.
"Staying the same behind you," said the spotter.
"54.30. Good lap."
"40's on new tires about eight back," the spotter warned. "Inside, by himself."
"All right, Terry, we'll be pitting in about eight laps, eight laps," the crew chief stated. "54.55, and we'll be pitting in five laps, Terry. Five."
"Still the same behind you."
"54.60."
Matt Kenseth was among the first drivers to stop with 37 laps left in the race. His departure gained Terry 23rd. Greg Biffle pit shortly thereafter; Terry was now 21st.
"All right, we're going to pit in two more laps, Terry. Two more laps," crew chief Derrick Finley said. "And we're going to work on air pressure to tighten you up."
As stops continued, Terry was up to 18th on lap 126.
"They're talking about debris right here."
Derrick told Terry to stay out one more lap. "We're okay on gas."
"Haven't heard anything about it. They quit talking," said spotter Mark Green.
"All right, Terry, we're going to have to come next time. We'll come next time."
Terry was 12th on lap 127. Tony Stewart pit at the end of the lap. Mark said Ricky Rudd knew Terry was going to pit; Rudd's #88 was right behind the #55.
"All the way to the yellow line here. 4600, 4600."
Derrick said the #45 should be pulling out.
Kyle Busch led a lap before pitting. Terry was just in front of Busch's #5 on pit road. Stewart was back in the lead on lap 130 as his teammate Denny Hamlin was stalled on pit road. Stops had cycled. Terry was 24th and the last driver on the lead lap.
"The 70 car's a little slow here," Mark warned. "Just watch him."
He was cleared. Getting around Ricky Rudd gained Terry 23rd on lap 131.
"Leader's the next car back," said Mark on lap 133, "You're clear by thirty."
"54.50, leader a 52.90," Derrick reported.
"Clear by ten on the 20," Mark warned.
Terry lost the lead lap on lap 136.
"Got one blowing up here. Stay with him, Terry. Stay with him. Caution's out, caution's out," said Mark.
The ninth caution came on lap 137 for Earnhardt Jr, who lost his engine. Terry received the free pass.
Derrick asked if the last adjustment had made the car worse.
"I think it was looser, man," Terry replied. "Loose."
"10-4. We need to go the other way. That was left rear air pressure."
"That was looser."
"Okay, Terry, you can pass him now. You can pass him," Mark said. He warned Terry about the clean up trucks. "Okay, Terry, we'll have to catch up to the field and then stop."
The #55 pit under yellow. They would need to stop again before the end of the race. Mark told Terry to go to the rear end of the field for the restart as he had been the free pass driver. McMurray's wounded and lapped #26 stayed behind the #55.
Stewart's #20 led the restart with 20 laps to go. Terry was 21st, and Brian Vickers' #83 looked to pass. Vickers got around on lap 142. Mark warned Terry that Ricky Rudd was slow and running along the bottom.
On lap 142, Kevin Harvick took the lead.
"Still clear by three on that 33," Mark observed on lap 144. "He's a couple laps down.
"Pulling away from behind you. Next car in front of you is that 15 car. That's for position.
"No pressure from behind."
"Blowing up, boys," Terry said with twelve laps to go.
"Come back."
"Got the 18 car five back. Outside. Clear behind him."
"Blowing up," Terry reported with thirteen laps to go. "Blowing up here."
"Quite a few coming here," warned Mark.
"You done?" Derrick asked.
"Still running, but it's smoking pretty good," Terry replied.
"We're going to have to keep going, Terry," Derrick directed. "I know she's smoking. Just be careful with it."
Mark told Terry to drive on the apron. "They want us off the race track."
"We're coming here."
"It's done, guys," Terry said.
"10-4."
"It's going to be ten to go here," Mark stated. "You want to go to the garage, Derrick, or what?"
"Yeah, I think it's probably terminal."
Terry said he thought the power was blowing up.
Derrick apologised "I've never been here butt loose all day." When he asked if Terry needed anything, the driver asked for a drink.
Shortly after Terry headed to the garage, Stewart took the lead.
"If you guys still got your radios on, good job," somebody said.
Tony Stewart went on to win for the second time at the Brickyard. After the race, Terry spoke with the media. "My engine blew up with about 10 to go. I don't really know what happened. We struggled here all day. We tore up a lot of stuff today and that's kind of unusual to tear up that much. It's unfortunate."
Nextel Cup racing goes to Pocono Raceway next weekend. Coverage of the Pennsylvania 500 begins Sunday at 1:00pm ET on ESPN. The Busch Series' NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will run the day before, and coverage will air at 3:00pm on ESPN2.
Cup qualifying quotes
DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Burger King Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 34th
Have you ever driven at IMS before?
"I came here about four or five years ago with the Morgan-McClure team and tried to make the race. I had a couple laps here then, but the track is not like it is now."
What are your thoughts on the track?
"The straightaways go on forever. It's a very unique place. Each corner is so unique. We always talk about the center of the corner, but here -- there's no center here. You're entering and exiting one corner and entering and exiting another, so it's a different approach. There's different language, too. You never really say that you're coming out of turn one."
How big does this place seem to be?
"Daytona and a few places seem pretty big, but this place seems like its own country. It should have its own zip code, that's how big it feels. I'm amazed at how flat it is and how wide the straightaways are - they just go and go."
Did you watch the Indy 500 growing up?
"I always watched the Indy 500 growing up with my Dad. I never thought I'd be able to race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway because at that time, Indy cars were the only cars that ran here. To be able to come here and compete in a different form of motorsports, that's a pretty neat deal."
TERRY LABONTE, No. 55 NAPA Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 43rd
How much time did you spend working on qualifying trim with track position being so important?
"We worked on both qualifying and race trim in practice, splitting the time. I felt like we were pretty good with our race practice, so we switched over to qualifying because it's so important here. We wanted to see what we could do. We didn't get as much speed out of it for qualifying as we'd like to, but we didn't fall off much in race trim, so that's good. There's not a big gap between our fast lap and our slow lap, so I feel pretty good heading into tomorrow."
How is your car handling?
"Our car is handling pretty good right now. We could definitely use a little bit more speed, but I'm not sure how we're going to do that without giving up some of our handling. We'll just have to wait and see how things play out and how the thing handles early in the race tomorrow."